China intends to buy Russia's Sukhoi Su-35

Feb 20 2013

RBTH

Interfax

China has signed an intergovernmental agreement with Russia to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters.

"Consistent with our understanding with China, we actually signed an intergovernmental agreement this January to supply Su-35 jets to China," Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service Deputy Director Vyacheslav Dzirkaln told Interfax-AVBN at the IDEX 2013 arms show in Abu Dhabi. He heads the Russian delegation to the show.

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Consultations will start shortly to draft the Su-35 contract, he said. "This is only natural; we keep to the plan," Dzirkaln added.

He did not say when the contract might be signed and how many Su-35 jets would be delivered to China. Yet he said there would be no license and China would acquire finished products.

When asked whether there was a chance to reanimate the Su-27 licensed assembly contract suspended by China, Dzirkaln said the contract was signed in the 1990s.

"More than 20 years have passed and the jet has changed, probably, the Chinese partners are no longer interested in the Su-27 jet the way it was described in the contract. I do not think the contract will be restored," Dzirkaln said.

China is the biggest foreign user of Su-27/30 aircraft. A total of 281 jets of the kind were supplied to China in different years. Besides, China started production of J-11B fighters - actual clones of Su-27.